There's a lot of research now showing that noise, and the lack of quiet working space, is one of the biggest issues for all office workers. Julian Treasure More Quotes by Julian Treasure More Quotes From Julian Treasure Every individual's listening is as unique as his or her fingerprints because we all listen through filters that develop from our personal mix of culture, language, values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations and intentions. That is why one person's musical taste is another person's hideous noise. Julian Treasure language unique listening culture The human voice: It's the instrument we all play. It's the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It's the only one that can start a war or say 'I love you.' And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don't listen to them. Julian Treasure you i-love-you love war If you want to be listened to, the first step is to listen well yourself. Julian Treasure first-step step yourself you A great deal of our work involves switching music off. Julian Treasure deal great music work It's a common mistake to speak the same to everybody. We all have different filters. Julian Treasure same different speak mistake My mother, in the last years of her life, became very negative, and it's hard to listen. I remember one day, I said to her, 'It's October 1 today,' and she said, 'I know, isn't it dreadful?' It's hard to listen when somebody's that negative. Julian Treasure day mother today life It's dangerous to generalise about sound because many of its effects work through association. These can be universal: we all instinctively associate any sudden, unexpected noise with danger and react with a release of fight/flight hormones, while most people find sounds like gentle rainfall or birdsong calming and reassuring. Julian Treasure dangerous unexpected work people Ears are made not for hearing but for listening. Listening is an active skill, whereas hearing is passive. Listening is something that we have to work at - it's a relationship with sound. And yet, it's a skill that none of us are taught. Julian Treasure skill listening work relationship Listening is a crucial aspect of democracy. Listening creates understanding, and understanding permits one of the most important things about every democracy, which is civilized disagreement. Julian Treasure democracy understanding important You can detect a hostile listening or a bored listening or a tired listening or an excited and engaged listening. Julian Treasure you tired bored listening Men tend to listen in what I call a reductive way, which is to say for a point, for a solution. You know, we like to have a problem and solve it. Bang. Thank you very much. On to the next thing. Julian Treasure you thank-you men way Listening is an activity. It's not passive. We are creating the world by listening all the time. Julian Treasure activity listening time world It is a mistake to assume that everyone listens like you do: your listening is as unique as your fingerprints, and so is everyone else's. Julian Treasure you unique listening mistake For the great speakers, it's all about the audience. And the feeling they have is that they're giving a gift, of maybe knowledge or inspiration or motivation. Julian Treasure gift feeling great knowledge We're designing environments that make us crazy. And it's not just our quality of life which suffers. It's our health, our social behavior, and our productivity as well. Julian Treasure quality health crazy life Sound affects us physiologically, psychologically, cognitively, and behaviorally all the time. The sound around us is affecting us even though we're not conscious of it. Julian Treasure though us sound time There are just huge benefits to come from designing for the ears in our health care. Julian Treasure come just care health Some of my best friends are architects. And they definitely do have ears. But I think sometimes they don't use them when they're designing buildings. Julian Treasure best think friends sometimes If you're listening consciously, you can take control of the sound around you. It's good for your health and for your productivity. If we all do that, we move to a state that I like to think will be sound living in the world. Julian Treasure good you health world You are one-third as productive in open-plan offices as in quiet rooms. I have a tip for you: if you work in spaces like that, carry headphones with you, with a soothing sound like birdsong. Put them on, and your productivity goes back up to triple what it would be. Julian Treasure your back you work
